Welcome to my blog! I write on a variety of topics, and want to share them with you. It's going to be fun keeping you entertained with my stories and articles, including reviews and how to guides. As I let my fingers do the typing, who knows which topic will be posted next. Keep checking to find out, and thanks for visiting me. Michelle

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Tuesday, 11 November 2014

The Writers' Review

I've been spending more time on my assignments which includes writing book reviews, and less time on creating content for my blog. I know I need to balance my time and am trying to rectify that. This is a general post on the quality writing I come into contact with, and is based on my observations as a book reviewer. It's for this reason I decided it was time to express my thoughts on this topic and point out a few mistakes which are frequently made.

Proofreading: To give credit, most of the published and unpublished literature I've read so far are written by authors who not only compose good reading material, but also spend time ensuring their work is properly proofread before promoting it to the public. This process enables favourable review ratings for them, and hopefully, an increase in sales.
On the other hand, there are writers, especially new ones, who appear to have penned and published their books rather hurriedly, without giving much thought to this critical area which needs special attention. Fortunately, I don't publish poor reviews, preferring to contact the authors by email or other means with summaries highlighting my reasons for the low rating, and possibly, suggestions to adjust the flaws. Spelling: It's understandable if writers overlook a misspelled word, but there are times when novels are infected with so many. Oftentimes, the same words are repeated throughout, and they're basic ones too. Please, don't ignore the red highlighted or underlined words made by the spelling and grammar checker. It's an indication that the words are incorrect. A dictionary is also an essential writing aid that will give you the proper spelling and definition.Punctuation Marks: The correct form of punctuation is important to a story and specific sentences won't have the desired effect without them. This is a vital necessity that is needed, especially when characters are conversing. I have noticed that it's occasionally omitted from dialogues, or added to the beginning or ending of paragraphs which don't require it.Format: Some authors write with a confident, relaxed ease, making their sentences blend with a good selection of words which flow smoothly. This gives readers better comprehension and visuals from the stories. Others have displayed rigid or poorly developed sentence structures which have the opposite effect. I've also read material containing unnecessary sentences, or the writing is too detailed, making the stories lag. Proper editing could have even reduced the quantity of pages, and the content would have been more interesting.There are other key issues I intend to address, and will soon post other articles in The Writers' Review series. Have you encountered similar problems when reading?

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About Me

I try to embrace life and what it has to offer. I like freelance writing and will spend all day doing this. There are so many interesting things to write about, and I get to set my own schedule working for myself. I'm having fun!